The present invention relates generally to a manner by which to provide information to facilitate scheduling of packet data communications in a cellular, or other radio, communication system, such as a cdma2000 system. More particularly, the present invention relates to apparatus, and an associated method, by which to facilitate reverse-link traffic measurement reporting, such as TVMAR (traffic volume measurement and reporting) reports generated at a mobile station, to be used to schedule communication of packet data to the mobile station to effectuate a communication service therewith.
The reports provide information, in a timely manner, to permit the packet data scheduling to be performed. And, the report also forms a data-rate request to request a selected data rate at which the packet data is communicated pursuant to the data service. Parameters contained in the report are selected at the network part of the communication system. And, the selected parameters are communicated to the mobile station, causing the mobile station to report with the values of the selected parameters in a timely manner so that the reported values can be used in the data scheduling.
A communication system operates to communicate data between two, or more, communication stations. A communication system is formed, at a minimum, of a first communication station, forming a sending station, and a second communication station, forming a receiving station. The communication stations are interconnected by way of a communication channel. And, data that is to be communicated by the first communication station to the second communication station is sent to the second communication station by way of the communication channel. The data that is to be communicated is converted by the first communication station into a form to permit its communication upon the communication channel. And, the second communication station operates to detect the data communicated thereto and to recover the informational content thereof.
Many different types of communication systems have been developed and implemented to effectuate the communication of the data between the communication stations. And, with continued advancements in communication technologies, new types of communication systems, as well as improvements to existing communication systems, have been, and continue to be, made.
A radio communication system is an exemplary type of communication system. A radio communication system utilizes radio communication channels upon which to communicate the data that is to be communicated between the communication stations operable therein. Radio communication channels are defined upon radio links forming part of the electromagnetic spectrum. As a radio link is utilized upon which to define the communication channels, the need otherwise to utilize wireline connections upon which to define communication channels is obviated. Implementation of a radio communication system is generally less costly than the corresponding costs that would be required to construct a conventional, wireline communication system. And, a radio communication system can be implemented to form a mobile communication system.
A cellular communication system, exemplary of a radio communication system, has been widely implemented and has achieved wide levels of usage. A cellular communication system provides for radio communications with mobile stations. The mobile stations permit telephonic communication to be effectuated therethrough. A cellular communication system includes a network part that is installed throughout a geographical area and with which the mobile stations communicate by way of radio channels. Base transceiver stations, forming portions of the network part of the communication system, are installed at spaced apart locations throughout the geographical area that is to be encompassed by the communication system. Each of the base transceiver station defines a cell, formed of a portion of the geographical area. When a mobile station is within the cell defined by a base transceiver station, communications are generally effectuable with the base transceiver station that defines the cell.
As a mobile station travels between cells defined by different ones of the base transceiver stations, communication handoffs are effectuated to permit continued communications by, and with, the mobile station. Through appropriate positioning of the base transceiver stations, only relatively low-powered signals need to be generated to effectuate communications between a mobile station and a base transceiver station. Hand-offs of communications between successive base transceiver stations, as the mobile station moves between cells permit the continued communications without necessitating increase in the power levels at which the communication signals are transmitted. And, because only relatively low-powered signals need to be generated to effectuate communications, the same radio channels can be reused at different locations of the same cellular communication system. Efficient utilization of the frequency-spectrum allocation to the cellular communication system is thereby possible.
Various operating specifications have been promulgated that define operational parameters by which cellular, as well as other, communication systems are to be operable. Successive generations of cellular communication systems, incorporating technological advancements, as such advancements become available, have been defined by successive generations, or updates to, operational specifications. First-generation and second-generation systems have been widely implemented and have achieved significant levels of usage. And, installation of third-generation and successor-generation systems have been proposed. An exemplary operating specification, referred to as the cdma2000 specification, sets forth the operating parameters of an exemplary, third-generation communication system. The cdma2000 operating specification, as well as other third-generation operating specification, provides for packet-based, data communication services.
To effectuate such packet-based data services, a packet scheduler that schedules the communication of the data packets to effectuate the communication service is utilized. To schedule properly the communication of the data packets, the scheduler must receive indications of communication conditions upon the radio channels upon which the packet data is to be communicated. In a proposal for the cdma2000 operating specification, a reverse link traffic volume and measurement and reporting (RL-TVMAR) report is specified, e.g., 3GPP specification, document No. TS 25.331[1]. The purpose for the traffic measurements and reporting is to perform efficiently reverse link packet data scheduling by the scheduler at the network part of the communication system.
Feedback information includes, for instance, a buffer status of a buffer at the mobile station at which packet data is buffered, prior to its transmission. And, information also includes reverse-link activity indications.
Existing TVMAR-report proposals are deficient in several regards. The existing proposals generally provide for 1-bit status reports, to be communicated variously, upon a dedicated channel, a common channel, or a time-multiplexed subchannel, along with another reverse channel. Such single-bit status report is to be reported, variously by way of a per radio frame basis or an on-demand basis.
The single-bit status report provides only very limited information, both prospectively and historically. And, the existing proposals set forth the communication of the single-bit status report on an unsolicited basis. If the status report is sent at a time during which the network part cannot properly make use of the report, the status report is of, essentially, no utility. And, the measurement format, measurement period, and reporting triggers are not necessarily based upon network-part determinations, thereby limiting the optimality of the system efficiency.
An improved reporting mechanism for providing a resource manager, such as a packet scheduler, with TVMAR, and other analogous reports, would therefore be advantageous.
It is in light of this background information related to packet-based communication services in an advanced-generation cellular, or other radio, communication system, that the significant improvements of the present invention have evolved.
The present invention, accordingly, advantageously provides apparatus, and an associated method, by which to provide information to facilitate scheduling of packet data communicated in a cellular, or other radio, communication system.
Through operation of an embodiment of the present invention, reverse-link, traffic measurement reporting is facilitated. Reports, such as TVMAR (traffic volume measurement and reporting) reports, generated at a mobile station are used to schedule communication of packet data with the mobile station to effectuate a communication service therewith.
Timely reports are generated that provide information to permit the packet data scheduling to be performed. The report also forms a data-rate request to request a selective data rate at which the packet data is communicated pursuant to the data service. Parameters contained in the report are selected at the network part of the communication system. The selected parameters are communicated to the mobile station, causing the mobile station to report with the values of the system parameters in a timely manner so that the reported values can be used in the data scheduling.
In one aspect of the present invention, the network part of the radio communication system selects the parameters that are to be contained in a TVMAR report, subsequently to be used to schedule packet-based communication services with a mobile station. Because the determination is made at the network part as to what parameters shall be contained in the TVMAR report, the information required to determine best the packet scheduling in an optimal manner is better assured.
In another aspect of the present invention, when the parameters, values of which are to be contained in the TVMAR report, subsequently to be generated, are determined, a signal is formed, indicating the parameter-types. The signal is sent by the network part to the mobile station, to be detected thereat. In one implementation in which the signal forms a higher layer, layer-three (L3), a binary large object block (BLOB). The BLOB is communicated by way of a radio channel to the mobile station.
In another aspect of the present invention, the mobile station detects the signal sent thereto by the network part and extracts therefrom indications of the parameters that are to be contained in the TVMAR report, subsequently to be generated by the mobile station. The mobile station operates, responsive thereto, to measure, or otherwise obtain, values of the selected parameters. The values measured, or otherwise obtained by the mobile station, are used to populate a TVMAR report that is generated and returned to the network part of the communication system. Once received at the network part, the values contained in the TVMAR are used to perform packet scheduling to schedule packet data communications to effectuate the communication service with the mobile station.
In another aspect of the present invention, the cdma2000 system is defined in terms of protocol layers. The link layer includes an RLP (radio link protocol) layer. At the RLP layer, RLP buffer status information and statistics are obtainable. Statistics measured at the RLP layer are used to form the TVMAR report at the mobile station that is communicated to the network part of the communication system to be used thereat for packet scheduling purposes.
The TVMAR report is generated, for instance, at selected intervals or responsive to a triggering condition. When generated responsive to triggering conditions, the report is, for instance, generated at selected time period subsequent to the occurrence of the triggering event.
In another aspect of the present invention, the TVMAR report is selectably of a differential report-type or of a full report-type. The full report is a multi-bit report containing statistical and status values measured by the mobile station. And, a differential report is of a reduced number of bits, e.g., a single bit value, indicating a difference indication of status values relative to prior reports. The differential report is interpreted as an up, down, or constant value.
Because the values reported by the mobile station are of parameters requested by the network part of the communication system, the information is more likely to be appropriate for the scheduling of the packet data communications. And, when the report is generated responsive to the request of the network part, the report is more likely to be delivered to the network part during a time period in which the network part is able to make proper use of the values contained in the report.
In these and other aspects, therefore, apparatus, and an associated method, is provided for a radio communication system. The radio communication system has a mobile station operable to communicate with a network part of the communication system. Communication indicia associated with the mobile station is reported by the mobile station to the network part pursuant to a high-data-rate communication service. A communication indicia parameter detector detects network-provided communication indicia parameters sent to the mobile station. A communication indicia measurer is coupled to the communication indicia parameter detector. The communication indicia measurer measures values of the communication indicia identified by the network-provided communication-indicia parameters sent to the mobile station and detected by the communication indicia parameter detector. A communication indicia reporter is coupled to the communication indicia measurer. The communication indicia reporter reports values, measured by the communication indicia measurer, to the network part.
A more complete appreciation of the present invention and the scope thereof can be obtained from the accompanying drawings that are briefly summarized below, the following detailed description of the presently-preferred embodiments of the invention, and the appended claims.